Fresh Green Apple Chutney

Welcome to Spring Cookbook Week on Macheesmo! I’ll be posting recipes from five cookbooks this week and giving away copies! All winners will be announced next Friday (06/05).

The not-so-secret secret of many cookbooks these days is that the “author” or chef associated with them many times doesn’t write the book. Just take it as a given that if a person is coming out with a full cookbook every year (or every six months) they aren’t writing it. They almost certainly have a team helping them develop recipes, market, and write the book.

As someone who has written a cookbook, I can tell you that I see these books now with a small amount of jealousy. It would’ve been nice to have the help! But, at the end of the day I can say I touched every page (and every word) of my book, for better or worse.

It’s such a breath of fresh air in this environment to see another fellow blogger come out with a cookbook as personal and beautiful as the Seven Spoons cookbook. After paging through the recipes and intro, it felt like I was sitting in Tara’s kitchen, chatting with her about Glazed Eggplants or Indian-style Baked Eggs.

The recipes in this book seem a bit all over the place at times, but I think that’s just a reflection of the author’s tastes. She has no problem adding some Indian elements to a traditional Italian meal or adding a touch of something Asian to a Middle Eastern spread. I have no problem with it either because it all looks so delicious.

Some of the recipes in Seven Spoons are simple and easy and some require a bit more skill, but they are all really well written and I love her casual tone.

This green apple chutney is one of the things that caught my eye. It’s listed as a sub-recipe in the book, but I wanted to feature it since it is so versatile.

Green Apple Chutney

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5 from 1 vote

Author: Nick Evans

Servings: 4 Servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 2 minutes minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes minutes

A light and spicy fresh green apple chutney heavy on the ginger and garlic and perfect spooned over any number of hearty meats like steak or pork.

Equipment

• 1 blender

Ingredients 

• 1 Granny smith apple, cored and chopped
• 1 tablespoon water, possibly more
• 2 teaspoons grated ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1-2 Serrano peppers
• ¼ teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 big handfuls cilantro, leaves and stems
• 1 lime, juice only

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

• Core apple and chop. Leave the skin on and add to a blender with a spoonful of water. Pulse until the apple is liquified. Scrape down the sides to make sure it’s all being pulsed evenly.
• Add chopped chiles (with seeds 1 will be spicy and 2 will be very spicy). Add sugar, salt, ginger, and garlic and pulse again. Finally add cilantro (leaves and stem) and lime juice. Pulse a few more times, scraping down the mixture.
• Taste the chutney and adjust seasoning with more salt or lime.
• Use immediately on grilled proteins or as a sandwich spread or store in the fridge. If stored, the flavors will mellow so I like it best the same day.

Notes

Recipe from Seven Spoons cookbook.

Nutrition

Calories: 33kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 0.4g | Fat: 0.1g | Saturated Fat: 0.02g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.04g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 583mg | Potassium: 81mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 47IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 0.2mg

Course: Pantry Staples, Side Dishes

Cuisine: American

Green Apple Chutney

Bright and Fresh

These are the best words to describe this chutney. It pops with color and flavor and I found myself sneaking spoonfuls of it straight out of the blender. It starts with this combo of veggies, fruit, and aromatics.

Core the apple, but leave the skin on. Add the cubes to a blender with a little water. The original recipe says just two tablespoons but I found I needed to add an extra teaspoon or two to get my apple to liquify correctly.

Eventually you’ll have this awesome apple pulp. This is the base for the chutney.

Add in all the other stuff at this point. For the chile, I used a Serrano pepper and just roughly chopped it with the seeds. One pepper ended up being spicy. I think two peppers might be too spicy, so start with one.

Blend this all together and add the cilantro and lime last. You big handfuls of cilantro and use the stem and leaves. It should be about 1 1/2 cups of cilantro. I used almost a whole bunch of the herb.

Green Apple Chutney Applications

You could use this chutney in so many ways. Mix it with a little yogurt for a crisp sauce, spoon it over any roasted meat (Tara recommends roast chicken), but for me, this time of year, grilled steak was calling my name.

I grilled up a small flank steak rubbed with olive oil, salt, pepper, and five spice powder.

When the steak is medium rare, slice it and spoon the chutney over the top.

Or make a sandwich?!

It’s a super-versatile sauce and I like that you don’t have to turn on the stove to make it. It’s perfect for a summer grill day.

Seven Spoons Cookbook Giveaway!

This book is the only book during cookbook week that is the work of a single blogger, or even a single person. I mean, I know Tara had help from a publisher, but it’s just so clear that it’s her book. The writing, photos, and recipes are distinctly in her voice. Luckily, she has excellent taste so this is a blessing.

If I had to describe the recipes, I would say they are mostly approachable and with an Indian or Asian twist to them. That’s not to say it’s filled with curry, but many recipes are accented with turmeric, miso, or other delicious spices. It would be a great introduction to some of these flavors if they are new to you or new ways to use them if they are already in your kitchen.

I’m giving away two copies of this beauty! It looks good on the shelf!